Relive the sprint race of the 2026 Qatar MotoGP Grand Prix with live text commentary

Follow live coverage of the sprint race of the Qatar Grand Prix, the twentieth round of the 2026 MotoGP World Championship.

17:45 Thank you for following this sprint race, we'll see you again at 16:30pm tomorrow for live coverage of the Qatar Grand Prix! 17:41 For Marc Márquez, the task is clear this Sunday: he must win the Grand Prix and hope that Jorge Martín scores no points to seal his tenth world title. 17:40 10/10 – Superb race from Johann Zarco, who finishes fifth. 17:40 🏁 10/10 – Marc Márquez wins this sprint race in Qatar! Fabio Di Giannantonio and the heroic Jorge Martín will join him on the podium. 17:39 10/10 – Martín is hanging on, but Di Giannantonio is pulling away, the title could be decided tomorrow! 17:38 10/10 – Di Giannantonio goes on the outside in the first corner, and therefore on the inside of the second corner, and he passes Jorge Martín! 17:38 10/10 – Marc Márquez begins his last lap, Di Giannantonio is becoming increasingly threatening to Martín. 17:37 9/10 – Martín continues to defend against Fabio Di Giannantonio. 17:36 8/10 – Marc Márquez now has a one-second lead over Jorge Martín, who is starting to show signs of difficulty at the end of the race. 17:34 📊 8/10 – The standings as we enter the last three rounds: 17:34 7/10 – Marco Bezzecchi returned to the Aprilia garage, disappointed but unharmed. 17:33 7/10 – Fabio Di Giannantonio is closing in on Jorge Martín; if the Italian finds an opening at the end of the race, he would give Marc Márquez a match point this Sunday. 17:32 6/10 – No action taken by the stewards after the contact between Márquez and Bezzecchi. The Italian will no longer be in contention for the title if the Spaniard finishes in the top two today. 17:32 ⚠️ 6/10 – Fermín Aldeguer, still twelfth, has served his second long lap. 17:32 6/10 – Marc Márquez now has a four-tenths lead. 17:31 🟣 6/10 – 1:52.302 for Marc Márquez who sets the fastest lap, he tries to widen the gap on Jorge Martín. 17:30 5/10 – If he manages to stay second until the end, Jorge Martín would prevent Marc Márquez from having a chance at the title this Sunday. 17:30 5/10 – The incident between Márquez and Bezzecchi is under investigation. 17:29 📊 5/10 – The new ranking for this Sprint: 17:28 ⚠️ 4/10 – Now twelfth, Fermín Aldeguer has made his first run in the long lap. 17:27 4/10 – Jorge Martín takes advantage to move into second place… and even attacks Marc Márquez for the lead! The Ducati rider holds on, but what a race! 17:27 💥 4/10 – CONTACT BETWEEN BEZZECCHI AND MÁRQUEZ! The Italian crashes after attempting to overtake on the inside at the first corner! 17:26 3/10 – Will the Madrid native be able to maintain the pace until the finish of this Sprint? It should be noted that he is still suffering from his right wrist, injured in Australia. 17:25 🟣 3/10 – Jorge Martín has overtaken Johann Zarco for fourth place, with the fastest lap of the race in 1:52.426! 17:25 2/10 – Marco Bezzecchi dives inside on Márquez, he takes the lead but the Spaniard retakes it in the last corner! 17:24 2/10 – Jorge Martín decisively overtakes Raúl Fernández, taking fifth place. The Aprilia rider is giving it his all to prevent Marc Márquez from seizing the victory this Sunday! 17:23 📊 2/10 – The standings after the first round: the Top 7 have pulled away from Fermín Aldeguer, who is eighth. 17:22 1/10 – Jorge Martín attacks Pedro Acosta for sixth place and he succeeds! 17:21 1/10 – Johann Zarco also had a very good start, now in fourth place! Jorge Martín is already seventh! 17:21 🟢 1/10 – The second start is underway with an exceptional launch from Marc Márquez who takes the lead! 17:19 🛞 Two riders have changed their tire choices for this second start, Fabio Di Giannantonio takes a Medium on the rear, while Jorge Martín switches to the Soft on the rear of his Aprilia RS-GP. 17:19 So we're now moving on to a new round of training! 17:18 The drivers joined their sole mechanic on the grid, as part of the rapid procedure. 17:17 ⚠️ Unsurprisingly, Fermín Aldeguer is penalized with a double long-lap for causing Francesco Bagnaia to fall. 17:17 The starting grid will be reconstituted identically, with only Francesco Bagnaia being absent. 17:15 The light turns green at the end of the pit lane, which is open for one minute, giving the drivers time to return to the starting grid. 17:13 🔴 The drivers are preparing to return to the track in a few moments. 17:10 🔴 The pit lane will open at 17:15 Paris time, for a quick start procedure and a ten-lap race. 17:09 🔴 The red flag having been waved after less than three laps of the race, a new start will be given. 17:08 🔴 Race control confirms that Francesco Bagnaia, transported on a stretcher to the ambulance, is conscious. 17:07 🔴 2/11 – RED FLAG, the race is stopped while Francesco Bagnaia can be transported out of the gravel. 17:06 ⚠️ 2/11 – Penalty for Ai Ogura (eighth) who must give up a position. 17:06 2/11 – Unsurprisingly, the incident between Bagnaia and Aldeguer will be judged after the end of this sprint race. 17:06 2/11 – Bagnaia is conscious in the gravel, which is a relief considering the terrible crash of the Ducati rider. 17:05 💥 1/11 – Huge crash for Pecco Bagnaia in the last corner! The Italian was hit by Fermín Aldeguer, which sent him into an impressive highside. 17:04 1/11 – Francesco Bagnaia was overtaken by Di Giannantonio and Fernández, he is now fifth. 17:04 1/11 – Jorge Martín is still eleventh after the first few corners. Johann Zarco has lost one place; he is eighth. 17:04 1/11 – Bagnaia tried to overtake his teammate on the inside in the second corner, but the Spaniard regained the advantage. 17:03 🟢 1/11 – The Sprint is underway! A very good start from Bezzecchi who maintains the lead in the first corner ahead of Marc Márquez and Pecco Bagnaia. 17:01 🌙 The air temperature is 30°C, and the track temperature at the Losail circuit is 32°C. 17:00 Let's go for the training tour! 16:58 🛞 We haven't changed our minds about the front row in terms of tires, Medium at the front for everyone, Medium at the rear for Bezzecchi, Soft for Márquez and Di Giannantonio. 16:58 ⏱️ The Safety Car leaves the grid, five minutes before the start of this first race of the weekend! 16:56 The drivers put on their helmets, we are getting closer to the start of this 11-lap Sprint. 16:50 Ten minutes before the start of this Sprint, for the moment only three riders, Marc Márquez, Fabio Di Giannantonio and Francesco Bagnaia, would choose the soft rear tire on the first three rows of the grid. 16:46 💬 Johann Zarco: "I'd love to keep this position during the Sprint, that would be really great, but I think I'm a bit more competitive over a single lap than in race pace. With the Medium tire on the rear, we lack grip at lean angles, which makes it difficult to fight with the others. You never know though, we've done a good job since yesterday and I'm happy with my lap times." 16:45 🛞 Finally, the Aprilias are joined by Zarco, Viñales, Moreira, Binder, Marini, Morbidelli, Acosta and Aldeguer with two Medium tires. 16:43 The four Yamahas, the two official ones and the two Pramacs, are not present this weekend in Qatar, due to the situation in the Middle East. 16:40 The pit lane is open, so the 18 drivers racing this weekend are heading towards the starting grid. 16:38 🛞 The four Aprilias will start on the grid with a Medium rear tire, while the majority of the field will have a Soft tire. 16:37 👋 Hello everyone, welcome to AUTOhebdo.fr to follow the live sprint race of the Qatar MotoGP Grand Prix!

Marco Bezzecchi will start from pole position ahead of Marc Márquez, who has his first chance to clinch the title this weekend. If he beats Jorge Martín by at least five points in this Sprint, he will arrive at Sunday's Qatar Grand Prix with a chance to become MotoGP world champion for the eighth time.

MotoGP 2026 – Qatar Grand Prix

The starting grid

MotoGP · Qatar Grand Prix 2026 Starting grid Line 1 1 Marco Bezzecchi Aprilia 2 Marc Márquez Ducati 3 Fabio DiGiannantonio Ducati Line 2 4 Raul Fernandez Aprilia 5 Francis Bagnaia Ducati 6 Ai Ogura Aprilia Line 3 7 Johann zarco Honda 8 Peter Acosta KTM 9 Fermín Aldeguer Ducati Line 4 10 Enea Bastianini KTM 11 Jorge Martín Aprilia 12 Brad Binder KTM Line 5 13 Franco Morbidelli Ducati 14 Luca marini Honda 15 Iker Lecuona Ducati Line 6 16 Diogo Moreira Honda 17 Jake dixon Honda 18 Maverick Vinales KTM